Jan 5, 2015

Several Hints on Building a Perfect Tree House

Can you pinpoint the exact moment you
stopped referring to the house you grew up in as “your house” and started
calling it “your parents’ house”? This transition happens all the time and is
just one of the signs you’ve grown up and left the family nest. Of course,
you’ll miss so many things from that nest, such as your first bed, your seat at
the dining table or favorite toy. If your father or grandfather were extra
skillful too, they might have even built you a tree house that you’re going to
miss! If you want to minimize this longing and homesickness and build one for
your own children, we have some dos and don’ts for a more successful job.

The What
and the How

First of all, what do you need? There are
three essentials for this project: building materials, an idea and a lot of
imagination. Call your local hardware store, find out which type of wood
is the most durable and adequate, and order enough lumber, tools and other
necessities, such as various nails and machines for drilling and sawing. You
can even pay extra and your wood will be prepared, processed and ready. Also,
secure yourself and your children – they truly are the best work crew you can
find – and make a safe working environment.

Location,
Location, Location

Now, begin! Let’s imagine that you already
have a big enough tree that will support the weight and capacity of a tree
house, but how to find the perfect spot? Try to work together with your
children and meet them half way – they can suggest where they wish the tree
house to be and you can decide which suggestion is the most sensible.

Naturally, being an adult, it’s up to you
to figure out which part of your tree can support the entire platform, provide
safety and accessibility. In addition to that, please be sure to pick the spot
that will not bother your neighbors, block your own view or, and this goes
without saying, make you cut vital branches. If you want your tree house to be
there as long as possible, you have to keep the tree itself healthy.

Building
101

Knowing the challenges of this project, there
are basically two ways of building a tree house: the hard one and the even
harder one. You can decide whether you want to build everything on the ground
and then erect the construction, or climb into the tree and place lumber
directly between the branches. The first one is easier as you can work in your
garage, have all parts in front of you and just combine them into a whole, not
worrying about falling down.

However, the second one is more practical
and hands-on, since you’ll be able to see what’s actually going on while you
work – when on the ground, you can never know if a particular part of your tree
house will collide with branches or knots. According to the people who work
at my local tree service, both methods are good, but their combination may
even be the best and that’s just what I did, building the platform directly on
the tree, and then building walls and roof on the ground, connecting them onto
the platform later.

Moving
in!

Once your tree house is complete, there is
an important issue you have to address – as it is for the children, it cannot
be too serious or plain because they’ll be bored very quickly. So, tell them to
add the details, do the painting, take their favorite toys and decorate the
tree house according to their preferences.
In the end, make a celebration and an official moving in party for your
children and all their friends – if the construction holds, you, sir, have done
a great job!